Or why Alma wasn’t the one to restore the Aaronic priesthood.
I think Joseph Smith was keenly aware of the tribal organizations of the House of Israel and how Aaron (direct descendant of Levi and blood brother of Moses) established priestly offices with his own sons within the Mosaic priesthood order also referred to as Levitical Priesthood. So in keeping with that tradition, Smith felt it best to have John the Baptist restore those keys because he was a descendent of Levi from both parents through the Order of Abijah:
Luke 1:5 wrote:There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
Book of Mormon peoples were not descendants of Levi. And there you have your answer, Limnor.
I think Joseph Smith was keenly aware of the tribal organizations of the House of Israel
This is a good response and explains why Joseph would eventually choose John the Baptist to restore the Aaronic Priesthood. But it doesn’t fully explain Alma. If Alma was conducting baptisms in the ancient Americas, he’d be just as authorized to conduct them in the 1800s. So why not? Moroni came back, why not have Alma come back too?
I’m not as sure that Joseph was as keenly aware of those traditions, because Alma wasn’t a Levite either. In fact, as you say, none of Nephites were Levites and therefore none of them possessed Aaronic authority. It doesn’t explain why Alma is acting with that authority, nor is there an explanation as to, if baptism requires Aaronic Priesthood authority, when and how that authority was conferred on him.
I’m not as sure that Joseph was as keenly aware of those traditions, because Alma wasn’t a Levite either.
I think if you look at references to this effect it becomes quite clear that Smith figured the keys of Aaronic Priesthood belonged to Aaron (later defined through John the Baptist) in 1829 before the Book of Mormon was published:
D&C 13, May 15, 1829 wrote:Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
And:
D&C 107, April 1835 wrote:
There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.
But there are two divisions or grand heads—one is the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the other is the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood.
High priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own standing, under the direction of the presidency, in administering spiritual things, and also in the office of an elder, priest (of the Levitical order), teacher, deacon, and member.
The second priesthood is called the Priesthood of Aaron, because it was conferred upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations.
Several times in Smith's later teachings and discourses (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith) he specifically mentioned how John the Baptist held the keys to the Aaronic Priesthood. All priesthood keys were held by biblical prophets.
Several times in Smith's later teachings and discourses (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith) he specifically mentioned how John the Baptist held the keys to the Aaronic Priesthood. All priesthood keys were held by biblical prophets.
I hope that helps.
It does, thank you. I’m not sure you are seeing my point about Alma, however. If Joseph understood the Aaronic priesthood and its relationship to baptism, why would he assign a baptismal role to Alma, in the book, who was not a Levite?
If Joseph understood the Aaronic priesthood and its relationship to baptism, why would he assign a baptismal role to Alma, in the book, who was not a Levite?
The Priesthood offices held by those prophets was after the order of the Son of God, the Melchizedek Priesthood via Lehi and Nephi. Alma did not officiate in the order of the lower priesthood. Priests and teachers consecrated were that of the higher priesthood. They practiced the Law of Moses but did not officiate in the order of the lower Levitical priesthood. That *is* standard Mormon doctrine to this day.
If Joseph understood the Aaronic priesthood and its relationship to baptism, why would he assign a baptismal role to Alma, in the book, who was not a Levite?
The Priesthood offices held by those prophets was after the order of the Son of God, the Melchizedek Priesthood via Lehi and Nephi. Alma did not officiate in the order of the lower priesthood. Priests and teachers consecrated were that of the higher priesthood. They practiced the Law of Moses but did not officiate in the order of the lower Levitical priesthood. That *is* standard Mormon doctrine to this day.
Ok I see now! Do you think that was “read back in” to the book as the theology evolved? It isn’t clear from the book by itself, at least in my reading. Maybe I’m missing it though.
Edit: thinking back through David Whitmer’s address, he seems to bring this up as well.
Ok I see now! Do you think that was “read back in” to the book as the theology evolved? It isn’t clear from the book by itself, at least in my reading. Maybe I’m missing it though.
Joseph Fielding Smith summed up the doctrine rather succinctly saying:
Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:The Nephites did not officiate under the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood. They were not descendants of Aaron, and there were no Levites among them. There is no evidence in the Book of Mormon that they held the Aaronic Priesthood until after the ministry of the resurrected Lord among them, but the Book of Mormon tells us definitely, in many places, that the priesthood which they held and under which they officiated was the Priesthood after the holy order, the order [of the Son of God]—the Melchizedek Priesthood.
I just recently learned that Martin Harris had a brother named Emer, and that immediately jumped out at me because of the Emer/Omer relationship in the book of Jared. An interesting fact: Emer Harris named his son Joseph Mormon Harris in July 1830, seven months before Emer himself was baptized.
Within the roman a clef composition model that is a pretty interesting data point to me. Emer was close enough to the movement in 1830 to put Joseph and Mormon into his own child’s name. At minimum, that makes the Emer/Omer overlap harder for me to dismiss as coincidence.
I just recently learned that Martin Harris had a brother named Emer, and that immediately jumped out at me because of the Emer/Omer relationship in the book of Jared. An interesting fact: Emer Harris named his son Joseph Mormon Harris in July 1830, seven months before Emer himself was baptized.
Within the roman a clef composition model that is a pretty interesting data point to me. Emer was close enough to the movement in 1830 to put Joseph and Mormon into his own child’s name. At minimum, that makes the Emer/Omer overlap harder for me to dismiss as coincidence.
Just a bit of trivia: Through his mother, Dallin Harris Oaks is a direct descendant of Emer Harris.
I just recently learned that Martin Harris had a brother named Emer, and that immediately jumped out at me because of the Emer/Omer relationship in the book of Jared. An interesting fact: Emer Harris named his son Joseph Mormon Harris in July 1830, seven months before Emer himself was baptized.
Within the roman a clef composition model that is a pretty interesting data point to me. Emer was close enough to the movement in 1830 to put Joseph and Mormon into his own child’s name. At minimum, that makes the Emer/Omer overlap harder for me to dismiss as coincidence.
Joseph and Martin began translating the Book of Lehi in Harmony Pennsylvania in April 1828 and finished in June after which the manuscript was lost. Family tradition purports that Emer traveled to Harmony to learn about the so-called "golden Bible" from his brother Martin when the translation was taking place. Emer was very interested in the whole process. Later, in the early spring of 1830, Emer traveled to New York to personally acquire his own copy of the Book of Mormon fresh off the press. Emer was impressed with the Book of Mormon and in July of that same year he named his newborn son, Joseph Mormon Harris. In Feb 1831, Emer was formally baptized into the Church of Christ which consisted of about 300 members.
It's entirely possible that Joseph Smith ripped a name from Martin's brother for his Jaredite story that would be translated in May of 1829 with Oliver Cowdery wherein we learn about "Emer was the son of Omer" (Ether 1:29). One thing is for sure, we know that Emer Harris ripped a name from the Book of Mormon because he believed the story was true and joined the church because of it.
